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Insurance costs

I was reading some older topics and came across the posts regarding insurance claims. I'm wondering...do most of you have pet insurance? I'm in the US so I'm wondering if it is like our healthcare where certain vets accept certain insurers? Also, what does it cost in US money to have this and would you all recommend it? We have a Golden Retriever who is 10 and we haven't ever carried it on her. She has some severe anxiety with storms and noises be we don't medicate her and other than that she's never had any major vet expenses.

I wouldn't be without insurance especially on a purebred dog and more especially on a cavalier, as they do have some potentially costly health issues within the breed. That said, as far as I understand there is only one insurer in the US that covers genetic/hereditary conditions -- this would mean typical cavalier complaints like MVD, patellas, and so far they have also covered syringomyelia MRIs, drugs and surgery for some people (which can easily run to over $10,000). I do not know the cost of insurance in the US but I do recall it is more than in Ireland/UK (though at current exchange rates that may have changed!).

My insurance here in Ireland, which does cover hereditary conditions, costs me â‚¬170 a year which at current exchange rates is around $220/year.

If I had a number of dogs (say over three) I probably wouldn't insure and would instead put at least $250 a year into a pet health account to save for any incidents. This is what I do for my cats -- the odds are that I would never get back what I would pay to cover all of them, & none has yet had any problems that I would have been able to claim for above the deductible.

I am absolutely thrilled with our insurance...so far. We'll see what their response is to the bill from last week! We have Veterinary Pet Insurance and pay $250/year for each dog. It did not cover Shelby's patella, but I knew that when I purchased it. It does not cover hereditary illnesses. So, MVD is out. But, I was more than compensated for Jake's cancer surgery. Their response time was great.

We've got Argos pet insurance for Maxx, reasonably priced and they cover more than most other policies do. The only downside is that they took 8 weeks to settle the last claim

I have Â£4000 worth of cover for medical treatment plus a whole host of cover for other things and it costs me just over Â£13 a month.

My vet always laughs though and asks me when Maxx is being returned under their 16 day guarantee

My late friend had two Cavs (her hubby still has them) and they weren't insured, she was landed with an enormous bill for treatment when one of them got mild conjunctivitis, it then spread to the other and despite treatment got worse and worse and ended up with some very expensive visits to and treatment from, an eye specialist icon_yikes

I learned my lesson in not having insurance when we inherited a GSD, she was a real sweetheart but her life was not long and she was always poorly - cost me a fortune in vet fees.

Unless I had more than 3 or 4 dogs I'd always insure; esp. with purebreds, for the reasons you note. I have several cats that have all been very healthy; it makes more sense to set aside anamount in an accoutn each month that would cover them, than to opt for insurance. Though that said as they get older more things can occur.

hi karlin as i live in the north of ireland i would love to know if you could reccommend as to who to get my health insurance from for my cav which i will be beinging home in 4 weeks time, i want an insurance that will cover me for everything...thanks[/b]